*A television news outlet covered activities marking the 105th birthdate of Charlie Parker.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
Grading the 2025-26 Season of the Folly Jazz Series
Original image by Plastic Sax.
The Folly Jazz Series is among Kansas City’s most significant cultural treasures. While it’s more artistically conservative and much smaller than Plastic Sax might like, the series is the only institution to bring preeminent mainstream jazz musicians to town year after year. The surefire bookings in the new season led to uniform grades.
Pete Escovedo
October 4, 2025
Grade: B+
A Tito Puente concert in 1989 is among the most memorable concerts this correspondent has witnessed at the Folly Theater. Although Pete Escovedo will be 90 when he appears on the same stage, here’s hoping the Latin jazz specialist Escovedo will be similarly vital.
Lakecia Benjamin
November 1, 2025
Grade: B+
Based on unexpected enthusiasm from people normally indifferent to jazz, the booking of Lakecia Benjamin is the highlight of the 2025-26 season. The saxophonist is among Wayne Shorter’s countless acolytes.
Joshua Redman
February 7, 2026
Grade: B+
Joshua Redman’s straightforward concert at the Folly in 2019 compelled Plastic Sax to write that “(e)ven at his dullest, Redman is one of the most exciting men in jazz.” The saxophonist is touring in support of the 2025 album Words Fall Short.
Cyrille Aimée
March 14, 2026
Grace: B
The French chanteuse Cyrille Aimée’s 2018 concert at the Folly Theater was superbly charming.
Unlimited Miles: Miles Davis at 100
March 29, 2026
Grade: B
Yet another Miles Davis tribute? Good grief! At least the band is impeccable. Here’s hoping trumpeter Sean Jones, saxophonist Marcus Strickland, guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel, pianist John Beasley, bassist Ben Williams and drummer Terreon Gully play loose and fast with the format.
Terri Lyne Carrington: We Insist! (Reimagined)
April 18, 2026
Grade: B+
Terri Lyne Carrington’s 2014 appearance at Yardley Hall was a mixed bag. Much of the material from her then-current tribute to the classic 1963 album Money Jungle didn’t coalesce. The drummer is touring behind another high-concept remake. Her update of the 1960 protest album We Insist!:Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite is likely to divide the audience.
An assessment of the previous season is here.
Now’s the Time: Vanessa Thomas
Vocalist Vanessa Thomas is among the five acts performing at the Prairie Village Jazz Festival on Saturday, September 6.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
Albums Review: Anat Fort’s The Dreamworld of Paul Motian and Hillai Govreen’s Every Other Now
Modest people and tasteful art are often overlooked in an era of attention-seeking loudmouths and raucous ideologies. Attention is paid to shameless self-promoters rather than to serious individuals who favor the sublime.
Steve Cardenas, a reticent guitarist from Kansas City, operates in opposition to the zeitgeist. Anat Fort and Hillai Govreen, musicians born in Israel possessing similarly reserved sensibilities, feature Cardenas on notable new albums.
Both Fort and Cardenas recorded albums for ECM Records with Paul Motian. Their mutual association with the late drummer compelled Fort to call on Cardenas for The Dreamworld of Paul Motian. The ravishing tribute also features bassist Gary Wong and drummer Matt Wilson.
The jaunty pastoral “Prairie Avenue Cowboy” and the metropolitan “Riff Raff” aside, Dreamworld is imbued with hallucinatory placidness. Cardenas’ characteristically understated solos add serenity to a low-key album that’s akin to the hushed murmuring of scholars in a palatial library.
Govreen’s Every Other Now is more conventional. Cardenas is one of eight musicians assisting the saxophonist and clarinetist on the mainstream jazz outing. Thanks in no small part to Cardenas, Govreen occasionally reveals fresh new possibilities for the form.
Now’s the Time: Bobby Watson
Bobby Watson oversees a big band at Jay McShann Pavilion on Thursday, August 21. A bit of additional information about the “Celebrating Charlie Parker” event is available here.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*Lonnie McFadden promoted his Charlie Parker tribute with the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra to KCUR and Kansas City magazine. The concert is August 23 at the Folly Theater.
*The Steely Dan tribute band Glamour Profession headlines the Prairie Village Jazz Festival on September 6.
*The fall lineup of the Maronde Professional Recital Series opens with an homage to Charlie Parker on September 30.
*Joe Dimino shared footage of a recent Jazz Ensemble Directors Reading Band event.
*A representative of KC Jazz Alive asked Plastic Sax to advise its readers that the Live Jazz KC calendar is “fully back in operation.”
Album Review: Pete Fucinaro- Little Window
Pete Fucinaro’s astoundingly accomplished Little Window is fully formed and thoroughly convincing. The debut album is so impressive that Kansas City jazz enthusiasts unfamiliar with the locally based saxophonist could initially mistake portions of Little Window for the work of area masters Adam Larson or Bobby Watson.
Yet production techniques rarely employed by local artists and the playing of unfamiliar voices betray the distant origin of Little Window. The album was recorded in New York last November with friends of Fucinaro largely unknown in Kansas City.
As with some of his adventurous cohorts, Fucinaro is a graduate of University of North Texas. The musicians are not immune to the artistic gravitational pull of Snarky Puppy, the occasionally gaudy band founded at the institution.
For the most part, Fucinaro tempers the youthful propensity for flash with cultured maturity. “Bonfire” is state-of-the-art mainstream jazz. "Prelude", featuring vocals from Ebba Dankel, evokes the groundbreaking collaborations between David Binney and Gretchen Parlato.
Rock elements add edginess to “Conreco” and the title track. The application of synths on “Slim” echo the 1980s work of the supergroup Steps Ahead. The successful use of an array of sensibilities help make Fucinaro’s debut one of the most exciting Kansas City albums of 2025.
(Little Window will be released Friday, August 22.)
Now’s the Time: Jon Batiste
A brief audit of Jon Batiste’s irregular relationship with Kansas City is in order. Batiste played the Folly Theater in 2014. In 2017, taxpayers funded an $18,000 charter flight to Kansas City to enable the 31-year-old Batiste to accept a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Jazz Museum. Batiste canceled a 2018 concert at Madrid Theatre the week of the show due to “scheduling issues.” The star’s Big Money tour stops at the Midland Theatre on Wednesday, August 27.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image of the Stan Douglas: Metronome exhibition at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art by Plastic Sax.
*Alex Abramovitz and His Swingin’ Kansas City Jazz Band was featured on Kansas Public Radio’s Live at Green Lady Lounge program last week.
*Joe Dimino interviewed Sebastian Arias.
Album Review: Seth Andrew Davis and Krista Kopper- Popular Mechanics
Midwestern barbershops during the Vietnam War era introduced me to Popular Mechanics magazine. I didn’t dare do more than glance at the covers of Playboy also found on the countertops of the smoky rooms while awaiting my monthly crew cut.
Then as now, an airing of the first two minutes of the 20-minute opening salvo of Popular Mechanics would send scissors flying and patrons fleeing from establishments with red, white and blue barber shop poles.
The sawing of bassist Krista Kopper and the slicing of guitarist Seth Davis on “So Much Water, So Close to Home” eventually settles into articulate dialogue that could be interpreted as a passionate symposium on theoretical physics.
“Where I’m Calling From” possesses shades of heavy metal. The noirish title track invokes the grotesquery of the titular Raymond Carver story. The duo cites the author as an inspiration. “Smallest Things” contains moments of hushed beauty.
The sublime use of space tends to make duet outings like Popular Mechanics the most rewarding albums by members of the EMAS collective. The peripatetic Davis is front-and-center on dozens of recordings, but Popular Mechanics may allow more listeners to recognize Kopper as one of Kansas City' s most exceptional musicians.
The methods applied by Davis and Kopper- scientific or otherwise- produce a kaleidoscopic array of tone colors on the 55-minute recording. A hypothetical Popular Mechanics article about their sonic inventiveness might change the life of an impressionable short-haired kid.
Now’s the Time: Alex Abramovitz
The trad-jazz band led by Alex Abramovitz performs at Thompson Park near downtown Overland Park on Thursday, August 7. Lester Estelle Sr. opens the concert. Details are available here.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*Tickets to Samara Joy’s November 22 concert at the Folly Theater went on sale to the general public this week.
Concert Review: Steve Cardenas, Forest Stewart and Brian Steever at Westport Coffee House
Original image by Plastic Sax.
Another year, another exquisite homecoming outing by the New York based Steve Cardenas. There’s little to be said about the guitarist’s appearance at Westport Coffee House on Thursday, July 24, that hasn’t been previously cited on numerous occasions at Plastic Sax. As usual, bassist Forest Stewart and drummer Brian Steever were ideal accompanists. The blend of original material and covers was characteristically impeccable. And Cardenas’ deceptively disruptive approach- flouting convention without causing ripples- never ceases to amaze. Still waters in the form of the astonishing Cardenas continue to run deep.
First set: Tears Inside (Ornette Coleman); Newer Normal Waltz (Forest Stewart); Blue Language (Steve Cardenas); How Deep Is the Ocean? (Irving Berlin); Reflector (Steve Cardenas); Down There (Forest Stewart)
Second set: Wail (Bud Powell); House of Jade (Wayne Shorter); Everything I'm Not (Forest Stewart) with Stan Kessler; New Moon (Steve Cardenas) with Stan Kessler; Ida Lupino (Carla Bley); Ladies In Mercedes (Steve Swallow)
Set list assistance courtesy of P.F.
Now’s the Time: Tom Browne
“Funkin’ for Jamaica” was one of 1980’s most distinctive hits. Baby boomers will thrill to Tom Browne’s revival of the crossover classic at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum’s annual Heart of America Hot Dog Festival at Penn Valley Park on Saturday, August 9. Silk and Eric Benét co-headline the event.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*From Kansas City Jazz Alive: We're thrilled to welcome you to the 105th birthday party of legendary jazz icon, Charlie Parker, also known as “Bird.” This series of events makes up our month-long “Spotlight: Charlie Parker.” This year's celebration features captivating jam sessions, soulful tributes, enlightening history tours, engaging lectures, fascinating exhibitions, insightful panel discussions, enriching workshops, and mesmerizing showcase performances.
Album Review: Brittany Davis- Black Thunder
If righteous rage is the order of the day, Brittany Davis’ latest release is the Kansas City album of the year. Black Thunder, largely improvised in a Seattle studio with bassist Evan Flory-Barnes and drummer D’Vonne Lewis, is a document of discontent interspersed with bursts of radiant optimism.
Davis, a vocalist, pianist and bandleader, was raised in Kansas City before she moved to the Pacific Northwest. She’s cast off conventional Midwest niceties. The vitriol of Black Thunder is in the vein of fiery agitators including Nina Simone, Abbey Lincoln, Moor Mother and Angel Bat Dawid.
Decrying institutional racism and societal oppression while confessing interpersonal discord and body image issues with lithe musicality, Davis reflects the tenor of the times with the acuity of an indignant folk singer and the ruthlessness of a battle rapper.
She decries duplicity and laments the inequity of fate on the seething “All You Get” and excoriates the inhumanity of slavery on “Sarah’s Song.” Eight interludes titled “Ancestors” avoid jarring transitions into less furious tracks.
Davis addresses her blindness on the cosmological “Amid the Blackout of the Night” and celebrates life on the Ayers-esque "Sun and Moon". Exquisite pianism, a facet of Davis’ artistry that may easily be overlooked amid the album’s storminess, is among the elements making Black Thunder a polarizing triumph.
Now’s the Time: Alexander Adams
Two Chicago noisemakers- drummer Alexander Adams and guitarist Jeff Goulet- perform at Grand Avenue Temple on Friday, August 1. The like-minded Kansas City musicians Seth Andrew Davis, Shanté Clair and Krista Kopper are also part of the bill.
Confirmation: Weekly News and Notes
Original image by Plastic Sax.
*The misspelling of the headliner’s name on the flyer for the KC Blues and Jazz Festival was corrected in recent days. Elsewhere, recordBar’s new Play Loud Fest in September includes a rare performance by the People’s Liberation Big Band.
Brigadoon
Original image by Plastic Sax.
“Almost Like Being in Love,” the standard once interpreted by the Kansas City trailblazer Charlie Parker, originally appeared in Brigadoon. The musical is set in an enchanted realm that’s almost entirely cut off from the rest of the world.
The results of two new surveys- The 73rd Annual Downbeat Critics Poll and the 20th Annual Francis Davis Critics Poll: 2025 Midyear- suggest Kansas City is the jazz equivalent of Brigadoon.
Just as few locally based artists make an impression on the international landscape, visits from the most recognized musicians are rare. Yet in spite of its solitude, superior jazz is performed nightly in Kansas City.
Only one album by a Kansas City based artist is among the 441 new releases receiving at least a single vote in the Francis Davis endeavor. Carl Allen’s Tippin’ came in at #24 with nine votes. Here’s my ballot.
Aside from Allen, the Branford Marsalis Quartet is the sole act with an album placing in the top 100 albums of the Francis Davis poll that has performed in Kansas City during the past 24 months. Not coincidentally, Allen joined Marsalis’ band at the Folly Theater that night. Marsalis’ Belonging landed at #7 in the poll.
Six acts associated with Kansas City- three living and one locally based- appear in DownBeat’s primary listings. (The poll’s individual voter ballots aren’t available.) The results of local interest are:
Hall of Fame: Bob Brookmeyer, 29th place
Historical Album of the Year: Charlie Parker- Bird in Kansas City, 13th place
Large Ensemble of the Year: Count Basie Orchestra, 23rd place
Alto Saxophonist of the Year: Bobby Watson, 30th place
Guitarist of the Year: Pat Metheny, 5th place
Composer of the Year: Pat Metheny, 17th place
Blues Artist of the Year: Samantha Fish, 13th place
Kansas City is also represented in DownBeat’s secondary Rising Star category:
Rising Star- Large Ensemble of the Year: People’s Liberation Big Band, 17th place
Rising Star- Trumpeter of the Year: Hermon Mehari, 18th place
Rising Star- Alto Saxophonist of the Year: Logan Richardson, 6th place
Rising Star- Baritone Saxophonist of the Year: BJ Jansen, 19th place
Rising Star- Organist of the Year: Chris Hazelton, 19th place
Rising Star- Vibraphonist of the Year: Mike Dillon, 7th place
Rising Star- Vibraphonist of the Year: Peter Schlamb, 13th place
Jazz lovers in Kansas City eager to engage with the outside world will relish poring over the results of the endlessly fascinating polls. While music discovery is “almost like being in love” for me, many locals prefer familiar sounds in their sequestered Brigadoons.
In much the same way, some of the civic boosters who repeat the old saw about Kansas City being a cradle of jazz neither know nor care about the global state of the music. And given the high quality of improvised music made in isolation locally, perhaps their blissful ignorance is warranted.